


5 Times Azula Didn't Ask Her Crush Out + 1 Time She Did

by Duckseamail



Series: my writing for Avatar wlw week 2020 [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: (azula is actually very good at the whole being a lesbian thing, 5+1 Things, 5+1's are harder to write than I thought, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern with Bending (Avatar), F/F, Fluff, Getting to Know Each Other, Useless Lesbians, avatarwlw2020, azula is not good at the being suave thing, prompt: college/university au, she just doesnt know what to do abt her feelings)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:15:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26217739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Duckseamail/pseuds/Duckseamail
Summary: Azula just wants the hot girl to think she's cool. Is that really too much to ask?Apparently, yes, because it takes her 5 times to actually ask June out.This must be how Zuko feels all the time...
Relationships: Azula/June (Avatar)
Series: my writing for Avatar wlw week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1902319
Comments: 8
Kudos: 34





	5 Times Azula Didn't Ask Her Crush Out + 1 Time She Did

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written Azula (or June) before, so let me know how I did in the comments!

One thing Ba Sing Se University had going for it was the kiosk on the edge of campus that sold the most  _ amazing  _ lemonade. And Azula would not admit to anyone that she put extra sugar in it (she had a reputation to uphold, after all).

Azula was walking towards the campus center and sipping her lemonade when she saw her. On the wide-open field where students gathered when the weather was nice, was the extraordinarily attractive woman playing with a xierxu. She was tall with long, dark hair that shone in the light. 

Her xierxu was sniffing enthusiastically in the bushes, and it grabbed a small object and raced back to its owner. The woman turned to meet it, and at that moment, Azula got a clear glimpse of her face. And could she just say:  _ wow _ . 

Tall, dark, and handsome could only begin to describe her. 

Well, ok, that was basically all Azula could tell from across the field, but first impressions were supposed to be superficial, right?

Right, so it wouldn’t hurt anyone to watch the woman have fun with her pet, right?

Wrong.

Azula hadn’t been paying attention to where she was going, and her foot connected firmly with somebody’s ankle. She turned just in time to see the guy trip forward with his cart and spill cabbages everywhere.

“MY CABBAGES!”

Ooh, he did  _ not _ sound happy. Azula turned and started rushing away from the scene. Just before she entered the campus center, she glanced back over her shoulder, and a terrible thing happened. Azula made eye contact with Tall-Dark-and-Handsome, and she was  _ smirking _ . 

Azula was doomed.

* * *

S unday’s were “ignore schoolwork and play volleyball” day, and Azula was so glad she had friends who were actually  _ good _ at the sport.

Seeing the other team’s faces as they realized their impending destruction was so satisfying.

Ty Lee served the ball across the net, and the boy in front did his best to hit it back over in a way that would actually make a difference. It was cute that he’d tried. 

Azula smirked and spiked the ball into the sand at his feet. Well, maybe it had been a bit  _ too _ near his feet because suddenly, he was swearing furiously and hopping up and down.

“Hey, sorry about that.” She called over. “You good?” 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” He spat at her. And, well, that was just uncalled for. 

Anger clouded her brain, but she did her best to rein it in when she spoke. “Look, it was an  _ accident _ , and I apologized. Can we get back to the game? I’ll be more careful of your delicate little toes-ies next time.”

Oops. Azula winced. She shouldn’t have said that last part, but at least she hadn’t started yelling like she would have when she was younger. It was a win-lose situation because stubbed-toe-boy was angrily walking off the sand.

Mai, Ty Lee, and the two players on the other team stared at her. Azula huffed. She could fix this. Cupping her hands around her mouth, she yelled, “HEY! Anyone want to join the losing team in a game of volleyball?”

The player’s opposite her glared, but she could see the light of competition in their eyes, so she smiled back sweetly.

“Sure, I’ll join.”

Her smile dropped off her face at the speed of light. It was Tall-Dark-and-Handsome from last week. She was walking over, and she was wearing a swimsuit. A really hot swimsuit. All of a sudden, Azula wasn’t sure she’d win this game as easily as she’d been expecting.

“June!” The girl from the other team called. “You’ll take Shen’s spot up front, ok?”

June - what a perfect name - nodded and stood across from Azula on the other side of the net. The girl who spoke to June tossed the ball up and served it in Mai’s direction. She bopped it to Ty Lee, who set it over the net. 

Watching June stretch up to hit the ball back was mesmerizing. Her arms were muscled, but the rest of her looked soft, perfect for cozying up against for a nap. If she hadn’t before, Azula definitely had a crush now. And said crush was hitting the ball straight at her.

Shit shit shit shit shit. Azula didn’t have enough time to get under it and return it, so she dove and bopped it back to Mai. 

Evidently, Mai hadn’t been expecting this one bit because the ball flew directly over her head, and she only stared at it when it went by.

“WHOOOOO!” The girls on the other team -excluding June- were jumping up and down with joy. Azula could have kicked herself. What kind of doofus let themselves get distracted by a pretty girl??? 

Two more missed hits proved that  _ Azula _ was apparently that doofus. She  _ tried _ to focus, but June kept  _ looking, _ and it felt like her gaze saw directly into Azula’s soul. It was dramatic, but hey. Zuko didn’t get to be the only drama queen in the family.

When it was Azula’s turn to serve, she was determined to keep her focus. Ty Lee sent the ball sailing over the net, and again June’s teammates passed it to her. Just before June hit the ball towards Azula, they made eye contact. And this time, June  _ winked _ .

And her mind went blank. She saw the volleyball coming towards her, but her brain didn’t make the connection between “ _ fast-moving object coming towards you”  _ and “ _ hit it away.” _

So that’s how she ended up flat on her back in the sand. 

“Azula!” she heard Ty Lee shout frantically. That jerked her out of her hot-girl-but-also-hard-object-to-the-head stupor. Azula pressed her elbows into the ground and tried to sit up. And it wasn’t that she  _ couldn’t _ get up, it was just that the sand was hard to support herself on, and really it wasn’t that uncomfortable just laying there. Mostly.

“I’m sorry,” June said, suddenly appearing in front of her. “How about we end the game here, huh cutie?”

Azula could feel a blush flare suddenly across her face and shoulders.

* * *

Azula didn’t see June again until a week and a half later. She was at the gym, and had just finished warming up and was heading over to the weights when she heard her voice. 

“Oh, hey! You’re volleyball girl! Azula, right?” 

She turns to look, and it is indeed June and not a hallucination. She looks different from the other two times Azula has seen her. She has her hair up in a ponytail and isn’t wearing makeup, but she still can’t tear her eyes away when she answers.

“Yes, I’m Azula.” Too short, too short, say something more! “Help?”  _ No! _ Azula was not going to make a fool of herself again. “Sorry, I meant, can I help you with spotting?”  _ Nice save,  _ she thought to herself.

June looked a bit surprised by her Azula’s offer, but only for a second. Then, she jerked her head in a nod and walked over to start setting the weights on the bar’s ends. Azula set herself up in a steady stance behind the bar and waited for June to get situated on the flat bench. 

“Ready?” she asked.

“Yup,” huffed June, “I’m doing 3 sets of 15, by the way.” Then she gripped the bar above her head and lifted it up over her chest. Azula carefully spotted as June slowly brought the bar down, and then pushed back up. Her face was twisted in concentration, and Azula knew precisely the combination of tiredness and satisfaction that came from lifting.

It was nice to know that she and June had genuine interests in common. Crushes were fun and all, but they got annoying fast if there was no connection. Standing in silence only broken by June’s breaths and the occasional clang of metal on metal was actually pretty relaxing. 

When June set the bar back on its holder and sat up, Azula twisted her fingers together nervously. Should she leave now? Would it be weird to ask June to join her in some friendly sparring? Probably not. In Azula’s experience, most Firebenders were eager to pit their skills against one another. Yeah, now that she was thinking about it, it actually seemed like a pretty natural way to keep this contact going!

“June.” Azula waited until she had her attention before continuing. “I was going to go do some Firebending for the rest of my workout. Would you like to join me?” Yes! Perfectly said. She bounced a bit on her toes but tried to contain her excitement at the success.

“Oh, I’m not a bender. Sorry, Azula.” June winced apologetically and then gave a short wave as she turned around. “Thanks for spotting me, though, I’ll see you around, ok?” And then she left. Well, she walked over to the deadlifts, but it was the same thing.

Gah, Azula was so stupid! Assuming June was a bender was such a teenager thing to do. She should have figured whether or not she was _before_ asking to spar. 

But also, Azula should stop staring like an idiot. That was important. She shuffled backward, then turned and made her way to the door. Her speed was the definition of the thin line between fast-walking and running.

It had never felt so good to leave a building before.

* * *

Azula had been brainstorming pick up lines with Ty Lee just for this moment. 

She was walking down the green and gold hallway where her History of the Avatar class was held when she saw June sitting on the floor and reading some old-looking parchment. There was an adorable line Azula had wanted to try out, but now that she was getting closer to the actual moment, the only line coming to mind was: Can I tie your shoes? Because I can’t have you fall for anyone else.

And that wasn’t even one of  _ Ty Lee’s!  _ It was a stupid one Zuko had told her about. And when Azula had angrily huffed that only an idiot would say that, Zuko had mumbled back that it was one Sokka had said to him. Which only further proved her point about it being for idiots!

She hoped June liked idiots.

When she reached the spot in front of June’s outstretched legs, she spat the words out. 

“Can I tie your shoes? Because I can’t have you fall for anyone else.” Azula clenched her teeth to try and stop herself from saying anything more, but she just couldn’t do it. Having June think she would genuinely say something like that would be mind-blowingly embarrassing.

“Not that I think you aren’t capable of tying your shoes. But, I really wouldn’t want you to fall -metaphorically or literally- because then you could hurt yourself. Or even, worst-case scenario here,  _ die _ . That would...that would be bad, so you should...let me tie your shoes?”

Laughter started spilling out of June, a high squeaky sound that contrasted with the tough image she projected. It was very cute, but definitely not worth the loss of Azula’s dignity.

She just stood there, waiting for the laughter to stop. 

“I don’t-” June gasped out, “I don’t think pick up lines are one of your strengths.” Her giggles had died out into occasional hiccups, and her face was flushed bright red.

Azula scowled. 

“Oh, like you could do any better?” she snapped. And that had obviously been the wrong thing to say if the growing smirk on June’s face was anything to go by.

“Yeah, I do think I could do better.” She said. “You know what? I’m glad I wore gloves today. Otherwise, you’d be too hot to handle.”

Azula’s mouth dropped open, but no words came out. Fuck, that was smooth.

“I have to-” she squeaked. Stupid voice. Azula cleared her throat and stumbled through the rest of her words. “-get to class. Yeah. I have to go. See you around.”

She scurried away like a mouse. A cowardly mouse. Agni, what had she become?

* * *

“Azula!!” Ty Lee whined. “Come on! Jin and Song are playing now, so that’s four people plus you!” 

Pfff, as if she would sink so low as to play hide-and-seek with so little convincing.

And then Mai said, “You can be Seeker.” 

Everyone knew that Azula was  _ terrific _ at finding people, so to have her friends basically agree to lose immediately...well, it was sweet. She faked an annoyed huff and nodded her head. She leaned against a nearby tree, closed her eyes, and started loudly counting down from sixty.

“60! 59! 58!” Four pairs of shoes slapped against the ground as Azula’s friends sprinted away. “57! 56! 55! 54!”

A very long minute later, Azula opened her eyes. She assessed her surroundings and saw June on the lawn playing with her xierxu again.  _ Perfect _ . Xierxu’s were some of the best trackers on the planet, and she planned to take full advantage of it.

June’s xierxu noticed her coming towards them first, which boded well for the “Win Hide-and-Seek” plan.

“Aren’t xierxu’s supposed to be large enough to ride?” she said in lieu of a greeting.

June quirked an eyebrow and said, “Nyla is a miniature. She also doesn’t have the paralyzing agent on her tongue. It makes her safer to have in public.” She gave the xierxu -Nyla- a pat on the head and smiled when she started panting.

“Ok. Could I borrow her? I need to win a game of hide-and-seek; my pride is on the line.”

“Well, if it’s a matter of  _ pride, _ how can I refuse?” She sounded sarcastic, but Azula barreled through. 

“Is she good enough to get a scent from my clothes?” Azula crossed her fingers at her sides. “I’m looking for four different people, so…”

June looked weirdly offended that Azula underestimated her pet’s abilities. She walked over with Nyla, and the xierxu started vigorously sniffing the air around her. Suddenly, Nyla stopped and turned towards a cluster of tall sandalwood trees, pulling against her leash.

“Looks like she’s got a scent. Shall we go?” June stretched her free hand out to Azula, and butterfly-fish sprung to life in her stomach as she grabbed it.

* * *

Today was the day. Azula stood outside the doors to the dining hall and went over her mental checklist again.

  * Step 1: Walk confidently into the dining hall and up to June’s usual table.
  * Step 2: Say hello to June but _flirtatiously._
  * Step 3: Ask her if she’d like to go see that new documentary about Wang Fire.
  * Step 4: No matter what she says, strut away (sexily) and regroup with Mai and Ty Lee.



Speaking of, Azula batted Ty lee’s hand away from her bangs.

“You’ve been fussing so long I think my hair has probably never looked better. Also, you are making me...nervous.” Oof, being vulnerable like that never ceased to make her stomach do a 180° flip. And it was  _ already  _ doing a 180° because of what she was about to do; so really, her stomach had just completely flipped, which really wasn’t the vibe Azula wanted to carry with her today.

“Sorry, Azula.” Ty Lee stepped back and gestured to Mai, who stepped forward and held out her hand with a small perfume bottle resting in it.

“We agreed that this has the most alluring smell,” said Mai flatly. She spritzed a bit in the air in front of Azula for her to step through. She had to agree; the perfume was very enticing.

“Good luck,” Mai said, gently turning Azula, so she was facing the doors once again. Ty Lee squeezed her shoulder comfortingly, and then she and Mai walked off to wait at the bench outside the library.

One last quick exhale and Azula pulled open the doors.

Finding June was easy. She was sitting at her usual table, and her head was thrown back in laughter. Azula saw a large football player approaching from the opposite side of the hall. He would probably challenge June to an arm-wrestling competition, lose, and then demand a rematch. Azula did not have the time to wait around for this guy to leave and end up psyching herself out.

She increased her pace to make sure she’d cross this guy’s path. When he saw Azula coming, he tried to curve around her, but she stuck out her elbow - which Zuko always said was unnaturally pointy - and shoved him out of the way.

He made a loud “oof” sound and doubled over, which Azula tried to cover up by saying “June! Hello,”

When June looked up, her lips were tilted in a small smirk, and her eyebrows were raised. It didn’t  _ necessarily  _ mean she saw the elbowing, but Azula shifted to block the guy from view anyway.

“Hey, Azula, what’s up?”

Ok. Ok, it was time. She set her face into a confident mask and said, “Would you like to go on a date with me? The theater is showing that new documentary about Wang Fire this Friday.”

June’s smirk turned into a genuine grin.

“I’d love to.”

Azula’s heart felt so light, it was almost like she’d spontaneously become an Airbender.

“Cool,” she said. “I’ll text you the time, alright?”

June nodded. “Sounds good. Also, um,” here June actually  _ blushed _ . “Your perfume smells really nice, by the way.”

Azula smirked and blew her a kiss. Then, she turned and strutted away - mission: Complete.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!!


End file.
